ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) has seized 26.5 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, or ice, in a major drug bust in the country’s south, the ANF said on Tuesday.
Meth is a powerful, highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system of a user, while it is illegal to possess such intoxicants under Pakistan’s Control of Narcotic Substances (Amendment) Act, 2022 due to their high potential for abuse.
The ANF seized the sizeable cache during a raid at the Karachi International Container Terminal, according to an ANF spokesperson.
“The anti-narcotics force has carried out a big operation at the Karachi International Container Terminal and seized 26.5 kilograms of ice from a container,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“Smugglers were trying to transport the drug to Malaysia by sea under the guise of salt.”
The consignment was hidden in special boxes secretly embedded into the floors of the container, the ANF said, adding it was taking further action against those involved in the smuggling bid.
Pakistan is part of a transit route in the lucrative drug smuggling trade due to its proximity with Afghanistan, the world’s largest producer of opium.
Despite the Taliban administration imposing a ban on the cultivation, production, and trafficking of all illicit narcotics, experts say the land-locked country has become a significant supplier of crystal meth in recent years, according to a report by Radio Free Europe.
Pakistani authorities seize hundreds of metric tons of narcotics annually, but a seizure of such a huge quantity of a high-end drug like meth is rare.
